The Otay River Floodplain Site in September 2025. (Photo: Dr. Laurie Koteen, CMSF) Historic losses of wetlands in San Diego Bay. California-wide, coastal wetlands have been lost on an extraordinary scale.  They have been drained, starved of sediment, filled and constructed upon, bisected by transportation corridors, and served as dumping grounds for municipal waste.  In South San Diego Bay, a small segment of these vital ecosystems is undergoing restoration to reclaim this cr

Whenever I arrive at a new spot, my instinct is to look around for signs. I’m curious to know the local rules, the species I might see, and any unique features of the area. I assumed this was common—that most people also stopped to read signs before heading out. But that assumption got flipped on its head when I started digging into how effective marine protected area (MPA) signage really is. 

How quickly a decade passes. That’s how long the California network of 124 marine protected areas (MPAs) have been in place, and in March...